"It was a grey and windy day.... Scott and Dave had been trying to get me to put lyrics on that one for years. Lyrics are, you know, about stuff." (Frank Black on St. Francis Dam Disaster - Blogcritics interview)

The day has finally arrived. We've updated the news on the main page. Oh, and it's official: There will be a Frank Black & The Catholics Boxset! At the time of posting this news, there are approximately 100 of a total 200 limited edition boxsets remaining which come with a signed Charlotte (the coverart, done by FB) print. Moreover, when you pre-order you get access to some other gems including FB comments on various songs and a few exclusive streaming tracks. If you don't know which FB song tells the story of Spanish colonization in California, head on over to Pledge Music's page and get yourself a copy, find out the answer, and then listen to a rocking live version of that song.

Now, for the news...

On March 23rd, 2015 Frank Black And The Catholics release the complete recordings box set on Cooking Vinyl. The 7-CD box features all of the band’s 6 studio albums plus a bonus CD entitled "True Blue" which is filled with songs that, according to Ben Mumphrey, "were recorded with the intention of being demos, to be sent to the Catholics band to learn before they traveled to Los Angeles to record the album Black Letter Days. We recorded in the temporarily empty 'B' room in Sound City Studios in Los Angeles, where many of Mr.Black’s local musician friends came by to help out. In return, exquisite evening buffets were provided for all, which Frank Black himself brought to the studio nightly and spread out. Everyone played, ate, talked, and was merry."

All six formally released albums (self-titled [1998], Pistolero [1999], Dog in the Sand [2001], Black Letter Days [2002], Devil’s Workshop [2002] & Show Me Your Tears [2003]) have been re-mastered from the original live 2-track and 1-track recordings. The release contains well over a hundred songs. True Blue is a disc of “technical demos” that Ben Mumphrey (who engineered all of the mobile recordings) found in his New Orleans recording archive.

The box set will have the songs in alphabetical order as opposed to presented in album format. Frank Black (or as the kids are calling him once again, Black Francis) explains, "[Alphabetizing the songs] feels like an approximation of randomness and it's a way to randomize something, especially if it's [arranged by] titles... We get away from the preciousness of LPs we put out and it's more about the body of work, the good times that we had." See a video of FB talking about the boxset (including artwork) here.

5/7/2011

Let They Walk Behind

Cult of Frank (12:28 PST)

Now that the Pixies have wrapped up their Canadian Doolittle tour, you might be asking what's next? 'Might' is probably the wrong word to use here, we've seen the emails. First of all, rumour on the street is that the Pixies are still looking to bring the fantastic Doolittle tour to new locales in the US with what we have affectionately dubbed here in FB.Net land, the "No Cities Left Behind" tour. If the Pixies have never been yo your town, let us know about it on the forum.

Others in far-flung locales across the globe or who just want some new material are not to be disappointed, either. Black Paisley, a collaborative project between "Frank" Black Francis and Reid Paley is slated for release this year. Their first record will be titled "They Walk By Night" and is produced by Jon Tiven. Those not familiar with Reid's work probably are. You may recall previous collaborative efforts in songs like I'm Not Dead (I'm in Pittsburg), Dog Sleep, and Golden Shore just for a few examples. Of course, you can always check Reid's website and hear "Take What You Want" which was also covered by FB. The track listing, according to BlackFrancis.Net follows:

1. Curse On You

2. Last Song

3. Crescent Moon

4. Praise

5. Ugly Life

6. Deconstructed

7. Magic Cup

8. Country Song

9. Seal

10. On the Corner

That album is expected this fall. But that's not all, there's a new Grand Duchy album coming out this year, too, though which will come first is an open question. The new record, Let the People Speak, is the second release from the kingdom and meanders sonically between a Petit Fours and solo Black Francis records with occasional forays into more uncharted territory for the duo. And you heard it here first, we have what appears to be the current tracklist:

1. The Lopsided World of L

2. See Thru You

3. White Out

4. Where is John Frum

5. Annie Bliss

6. Illiterate Lovers

7. Dark Sparkles and the Beat

8. Silver Bosy

9. Two Lies and One Truth

10. Face (If You Could See My)

11. Esther

12. R.O.T.C.

13. Let the People Speak

The Bureau is also rumoured to be releasing an album for a band that is NOT a Frank Black project, which, if true, would really mark a foray into being a (black) label. Who is this band, so blessed? None other than the Bennys, a name many old Frank Black fans will recognize from opening gigs back in the heady days of the Catholics and the reason that there was a Sunday Sunny Mill Valley Groove Day session which may well have been one of the first leaks on the internet.

So as you can see, in spite of the fact that FB is finally enjoying a little bit of a breather and some time at home, there is plenty in the pipeline to feed your cravings through to 2012.

-Dean

4/16/2011

Happy Birthday, Frank!

Cult of Frank (08:48 PST)

All of us here at FrankBlack.Net would like to wish Frank Black Francis a happy birthday, the Pixies a happy 25th anniversary (breakup? what breakup?), and Lando Calrissian a happy 74th birthday, too. Yes, that's right, Frank Black and the first black in space a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away share a birthday. Coincidence? Our fact-checkers say yes, but consider this: Lando Calrissian sported a nice mustache; Frank Black once sang a song about a mustache. Lando impresses the ladies with eloquent pickup lines; Frank Black impressed his now-wife with eloquent spoken lines. Lando has been known to frequent outer space; Frank Black has many songs on this very topic. Lando went after Solo; after the Pixies, Frank Black went solo.

The parallels are too many to list but it certainly adds a new twist to the long-standing rumour that the fourth track on the legendary Teenager of the Year album was originally titled Calrissian.

Pop by the forum and wish Frank Black, Black Francis, Charles Thompson, Billy Dee Williams, Merle Haggard, and other celebrities that make today great a happy birthday here!

-Dean

2/22/2011

Pixies Head North

Carl (18:08 PST)

2010 was a typically busy year for (if you will) Frank Black Francis, what with the release of NonStopErotik, The Golem score/rock soundtracks and DVD and B-side/demo comp Abbabubba, the staging of the Bluefinger opera, continuing work on the next Grand Duchy album entitled Let the People Speak and of course plenty of shows. The Pixies' extended Doolittle 20th anniversary tour brought them to Latin America for the first time; as it turned out, the band arrived in Chile the night that those now-famous 33 Chilean miners - who had been trapped underground for two months - were being rescued. At the following night's show in Santiago, the band played 33 songs in tribute to each of the rescued miners, in the process playing their longest set ever.

But the Doolittle tour isn't over just yet! The band are taking it north this time, with shows in Canada during April and May this year! Plus lucky fans in Detroit, Milwaukee and St. Paul, Minneapolis can also look forward to seeing the band... check out the tour dates (in the right panel) for the full itinerary. And staying with Doolittle, over 100 local musicians got together at San Francisco’s Public Works on 22 Feb for a live performance recording of the seminal album... and join the discussion on our forum. Meanwhile, the Pixies finally have an official site, which is offering free live shows to download (see link above). Dave and Joey have been talking to Billboard about the possibility of a new album. And in other Pixies-related news, designer extraordinaire Vaughan Oliver recently received a Grammy nomination for his work on the band’s Minotaur Deluxe Edition box set.

…But let’s not have the Pixies hog all the news! Grand Duchy’s new album Let The People Speak is due for release some time in April while The Golem soundtrack/DVD and rock album will get an official nationwide US release on 15 Mar, but there’s a particularly exciting developments for FB & The Catholics fans: work has officially begun on the long awaited "Red Letter Days" boxset (though the title is still to be decided)! The release will include everything from their eponymous 1998 debut to 2003’s Show Me Your Tears, all remastered from the original reels. B-sides, alternate takes and vinyl versions of all the albums are expected to be included in the set. Check out the newly-refurbished blackfrancis.net for further details!

Hello out there in FrankBlack.Net land! It’s been a long time and there’s plenty of news (and olds) to catch up on, so here goes… firstly, Frank’s classic “I Heard Ramona Sing” is featured on the soundtrack to new film Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, a comic book adaptation which looks both fun and funny. The song is apparently used quite effectively in the film – if it works any near as well as the Pixies’ “Where Is My Mind?” In Fight Club, it just might make for a classic scene! In any case, the soundtrack is now available on iTunes. The soundtrack also includes songs from Broken Social Scene, Metric, and others.

Meanwhile, a new Frank Black/Black Francis compilation is apparently in the works. Set to be issued through BlackFrancis.net, Abbabubba will contain both B-sides and – in the words of the man himself – “other oddball tracks which have never been formally released.” As yet there are no details of a release date, but we’ll keep you posted. As you may or may not be aware, the Houston-based Catastrophic Theatre have prepared a musical based on the BF’s Bluefinger, a concept album based around the life of late Dutch rocker and artist Herman Brood. The show - which will feature songs from Bluefinger alongside compositions by Brood himself - is set to run from Nov 12 to Dec 18 at the DiverseWorks Artspace in Houston, Texas. Check here for more info. Elsewhere, FB has made an appearance in Don’t Ask Me Questions, a documentary about British rocker Graham Parker. Unfortunately, the film is a little short of funds for a release, but you can help get it out there by donating money here … and check out the trailer (featuring Frank) while you’re at it. Thanks to matto for the info!

There’s plenty of activity on the Grand Duchy front, too. Frank and Violet are currently putting finishing touches to Let The People Speak, a new album set for release early in the new year. You can take a look at the unofficial track list on the forum! Oh and by the way, NJ singer-songwriter Pete Yorn’s new FB-produced, self-titled album is due for release on Sep 28.

Elsewhere, Frank – as Black Francis, of course - is busy fulfilling his current US tour commitments in time for the Pixies North and South America shows. All four Pixies have been giving interviews over last while, which you can check out at their respective links… there are BF interviews with The Monterey Herald, the Boston Herald, and the Philadelphia Inquirer. Have a listen to an interview with Joey on the Wayward Blog where he talks about the rigours of touring, cycling, and his solo work; read up on a conversation Dave had with Austin Town Hall, or listen to Kim dissing "Make Believe" and chatting Breeders with The Cleveland Scene. Although you might find an interview with Kim’s sister and fellow Breeders member Kelley more relevant - if only slightly.

The Pixies DVDs Acoustic: Live In Newport and Live At The Paradise In Boston have just been released together on a single Blu-ray, which is available from the FrankBlack.Net Store.

And finally, Brian and I would like to welcome Carl to the FrankBlack.Net News team and thank him for volunteering with the ongoing FB.Net project as well as writing this news update. Hopefully this is the beginning of a much more active news section.

-Dean

2/13/2010

The Golem Is Alive! And...Erotik?

Brian (07:04 PST)

The Golem is on sale NOW!

That's right, our friends at BlackFrancis have officially released the limited edition Golem Book - 5 discs, a 50 page book, and only 500 copies! Take a break from reading this news and go over to the BlackFrancis webstore...

...ok, are you back? Hopefully you got one. If you didn't, we've been assured that a rock songs version will be released in the future featuring just the full-fledged songs, but not the interludes/score/etc.

Check out the making of video here, and while you're there you can watch the WHOLE FREAKIN' THING on the blackfrancisnet YouTube account. I'll give you some more time to go do that...

But we're back with even MORE exciting news! Many of you have no doubt seen this on our forum or around the interwebs, but we have a cover and press release for the upcoming NonStopErotik (we can finally confirm that spelling!). I'll let the press release do the talking:

I finally came into possession of an old guitar someone had given me at a nightclub in San Francisco awhile back; Eric Drew Feldman had been holding it for me there on Haight Street. He convinced me that it looked cool (it was black) and had been given in the spirit of benevolence. Every time I picked it up a nice chord came out and so I lovingly cleaned it with red wine in the dressing room the following night and began to write. I told the tour manager that we would drive in my Cadillac directly to a recording studio in Los Angeles (and could he book one, oh, and a rhythm section, too?) from the gig in San Luis Obispo which would put us at the studio at about 4am. It all happened according to plan and we cut the initial tracks there in the wee hours over a few days, and then moved on to an equally haunted studio in London and Eric Drew Feldman joined us there and we finished the record in St. John's Wood. Like I said the studio was haunted and I wrote many a couplet by candlelight in the studio accommodation, slept very little, and only felt the need to get the fuck out of there fast on the last night. The spirits had not ever bothered me, other than low drama moral support, but I was informed that they had heard enough and it was time to move on; plus I had a gig in Ireland.

When I was a boy the plant we boys called a fern was code for vagina, and to this day I love fern plants. In my heart the vagina is almost everything, and almost everything else could be summed up in what cock and seed have to offer; and everything else? The love of the father, dead or alive, the pain of too much pleasure, till death do us part, the voice of another song man from the other side, with or without God, Teri and the Possibilities, where ever you may be, the smell of sex in the air, seduced, slain, on my knees in prayer, sucking at the only thing that matters, my own personal Meret Oppenheim, I am Man Ray and I want you and to be all the way inside you, the cameras whirring as we put some elbow grease into the scene, the audience watching us in the dark. - Black Francis January 2010, Central Oregon

Very interesting stuff, indeed. Now, if you can't wait until March 30, tune in March 1st for our FrankBlack.net NonStopErotikast - a podcast full of discussion and music from NonStopErotik plus a few other little surprises!

Until then,
Brian

1/26/2010

New Year's News

Brian (07:20 PST)

Happy New Year from all of us at FrankBlack.net! Our news section is one area of the site that we vow, in this new year, to update more frequently. So, here is part 1 of our resolution!

First of all, Non Stop Erotic (or is it NonStopErotik?) is due out on March 30th in the US and April 5 everywhere else. However, if you want to get a special sneak peak at the record, i might suggest checking out our March 1st edition of the FrankBlack.net podcast...just saying, it should be a special one.

Speaking of special podcasts, back in December we featured 7(!) pieces from the as-still-unreleased Golem box set, and spoke with three musicians involved with that record - Eric Drew Feldman, Ralph Carney and Jason Carter. It was one of the most fun podcasts we''ve ever done, and we hope that you check that, along with all of our other podcasts (including January''s Workout podcast) on our podcast page, and remember, the first of the month, EVERY month, we''re back with another new episode.

Sad news for all of us East Coasters - Black Francis''s participation in a March 2 tribute to the Who in New York City is no longer happening. Maybe we can convince him into making it up to us with a few shows...

...or if you are a Northern Californian, you have good news regarding some last minute acoustic shows coming up soon. January 30th, you can catch the man at the Hard to Find Showspace in Goleta and Feburay 7 at the Blue Lamp in Sacramento. The Goleta show is all ages, but it appears the Blue Lamp is not.

Mr. Francis, along with his lovely wife Violet Clark, is currently in the studio working on the second Grand Duchy record, tentatively titled Give the People What They Want. We will promise to update you as soon as we get more information.

Future Podcast guests and new friends to the site Joey Santiago and David Lovering have a band called The Everybody and a brand new record called Avatar (don''t worry - James Cameron didn''t touch this!) and a really cool new website which, among other things, features ways for you to collaborate with the band! It is a really cool idea, so go to TheEverybody.com and try to become part of Everybody Else!

And finally, since we all haven''t bought Doolittle enough times already, there is a new "Omnibus Edition" coming out from the Beggars Banquet Archival imprint sometime in the future. We''re being promised a surround sound mix, a Blu-Ray (of what? Audio? Videos? No one seems to know), mastered demos of most of the tracks, and a booklet full of new interviews. (Info from the amazingly titled website, Slicing Up Eyeballs) It actually does sound pretty cool - we'll keep you updated as more information becomes available.

-Brian

11/3/2009

Non Stop!

Broken Face (17:42 PST)

Ahoy folks - its been awhile since we've posted news, so let's get started:

First of all, for all us North Americans, the Doolittle tour should be rolling into your town very soon! Please check the tour dates to make sure that you don't miss the show.

On Friday, the Pixies are paying a visit to the Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien - make sure to set your DVRs to catch this rare network television performance - Friday, 11:35pm EST on NBC.

Moving on from the Pixies, Black Francis is hosting two nights benefiting Winston Bertrand. I'll let this press release tell you about Winston: Winston Bertrand was born on February 20, 2009 with a double whammy of two extremely rare and life-threatening conditions. Winston was born with two rare complex malformations called Lymphatic and Venous Malformations. Lymphatic malformations are varying sized cystic abnormalities of the lymphatic system occurring in perhaps 1 in 10,000 births. His parents, Jennifer and Chris Bertrand have had to practically abandon their business to assist in around-the-clock in-home medical care for baby.

So what can we do to help out Winston? Well, first of all, you can donate to "Winston's Village" by clicking here. But, more excitingly, there are two gigs coming up that sound like they're going to be great, with all the proceeds going to Winston's Village. They take place December 8+9 at the Echoplex in Los Angeles. The show on the 8th will feature Black Francis "doing band and solo performances with special guest appearances by people like members of THE PIXIES and LOVE & ROCKETS, FLEA, SHE WANTS REVENGE, WEIRD AL YANKOVIC, MICHAEL PENN, DAVID J, THE 88 and GRAND DUCHY...more to be added." The show on the 9th is a night of comedy hosted by Black Francis and featuring "TIM & ERIC (form the Tim & Eric Awesome Show Great Job!), BOB ODENKIRK, BRIAN POSEHN, DAVID LOVERING, solo performances from Black Francis plus others to be announced." These shows sound amazing, and all of your Angelinos better make it out to one, if not both, of these.

And finally, the biggest news we've had around these parts in awhile, we are able to announce a brand new Black Francis record! Co-produced by Eric Drew Feldman, featuring several Los Angeles based musicians (including former Catholic Dave Philips) and titled NON STOP EROTIK (or EROTIC - we're not exactly sure yet!). Here is the tracklisting:

Once we get a release date firmed up for this, and for the Golem, we'll let you know!

-Brian

9/16/2009

Mulcahy Tribute, New Albums and More

Brian (11:08 PST)

TONS of news trickling into our headquarters lately - and with our news system finally up and running again, we can bring you all the good info:

First and foremost - this coming Sunday, anyone within driving distance to New York City should be checking out "Ciao My Shining Star: The Songs of Mark Mulcahy," a night of live music featuring our own Frank Black, as well as the great Vic Chestnutt, The Autumn Defense (featuring Pat Sansone and John Stirrat of Wilco) and many, many more. Tickets are available here. And make sure to pick up the album that the show is celebrating when released September 29th. For more information, including a tracklisting, see our last news post.

You may notice that our tour dates section has been recently updated to reflect the full North American PixiesDoolittle tour, starting in early November. And more tour dates keep rolling in, with the Pixies heading down under for some shows in New Zealand and Australia - we will get those up soon as well.

We are also happy to report some news on 2 long-gestating projects: Der Golem and another new record produced by Eric Drew Feldman (who also produced Der Golem)! Der Golem is due to be released "in time for the holiday season" according to our friends at BlackFrancis.net. Remember, there are only 500 copies available - so grab it as soon as it is out!

Here is a picture of FBF at work in Ocean Way Studios in Los Angeles working during the LA sessions for this new record, which will pick up very soon in the UK for the next batch of recordings. Whether or not this will be titled Non-Stop Erotik, as rumored by NME, is yet to be determined.

Blackfrancis.net also reports that a 2nd USB release, Live in Nijmegen, featuring the Bluefinger band of Dan Schmitt and Jason Carter, will be ready for release soon as well.

According to their Facebook page, a 2nd Grand Duchy album, titled Let the People Speak is already on its way to completition. We hope to hear more about this soon.

And finally, here are some quick links to some cool articles of note:

Our old pal Ben Sisario (author of the 33 1/3 series book, Doolittle) recently wrote an article for the New York Times on a rare, vinyl-only collection of the “Best Recorded Screams” as voted on by New York record store owners and - surprise, surprise - Black Francis is represented (by “Vamos”). Read more here.

Magnet Magazine has been all about FB lately - and now looks at his cover of “Hang Onto Your Ego” and pits it against the Beach Boys’ original. The article includes FB’s video, which if you’ve never seen it, is well worth a watch. Read about it here.

Now, for all those across the pond who feel left out, the Pixies will be touring Doolittle in its entirety, along with its appropriate b-sides, throughout Europe in October. The tour is celebrating the record's 20th anniversary.

In addition to all the live dates, we have a bit of additional Pixies news. It seems that Mr. Black Francis has offered a challenge to Hollywood directors - let the Pixies score your film! “The band needs to work with a film director. Quentin Tarantino or someone like that. It’d be like, ‘Make some music for our film, you guys be the sound of the film’.” Will anyone take them up on this task? Do you see them working with someone like the aforementioned Tarantino, or someone like David Fincher? Or maybe even Judd Apatow!

And finally, we have some sad news from a friend of our website and of FBF, Mark Mulcahy. Some of you might recognize the name as the singer/songwriter behind Miracle Legion and Polaris, both of which featured Catholics David McCafferey and Scott Boutier, or perhaps you recognize the name from the liner notes of Christmass, as Mark provided backing vocals for both "Radio Lizards" and "Don't Get Me Wrong." Or maybe, like me, you saw Mark open for the Pixies in Atlantic City in 2005. Regardless, Mark's wife recently passed away, leaving him as a single dad to two small children. Some friends and admirers, including our Frank Black Francis, have recorded some of Mark's songs for a tribute record called Ciao My Shining Star: The Songs of Mark Mulcahy. Check out this AMAZING group of artists contributing:

The record comes out September 29th (my wedding anniversary!) on Shout! Factory records and was put together by friend of the site, Myles Mangino (who we hope to have on a podcast soon to further talk up the record).

And finally, the writers over at Magnet, one of the best music magazines still standing, have asked a question that has plagued our forum members for years now: Frank Black Vs. the Pixies. Read the funny (and controversial!) article here.

And, keep your ears peeled for new podcasts on the 15th of the month, every month, for the foreseeable future.